Second Democrat files for District 32 House seat

Derek Kent is running for a House of Delegates seat in District 32. (Courtesy Photo)

An Army veteran who works in cybersecurity is the second Democrat to file for a seat in the House of Delegates' District 32.

Hanover resident Derek Kent filed as a candidate for the three-member district in July. The 34-year-old District 32 Democratic Club board member is running on a progressive platform that includes support for national issues such as universal health care and publicly funded elections, as well as a statewide $15 minimum wage, free public college for Maryland residents and 12 weeks of guaranteed paid family and medical leave for all employees in the state.

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"There's a number of issues I'm campaigning on, but at their core is that everyone has a fair opportunity for a decent, fulfilling life and everyone should be treated equally under the law and have a voice in our government," he said.

Three incumbent Democrats represent District 32, which covers northern and western parts of the county, including Jessup, Fort George G. Meade, Severn, Maryland City and Linthicum. Dels. Pam Beidle, Mark Chang and Ted Sophocleus have not announced plans to step down at the end of their terms in 2018, though some have predicted Sophocleus, 78, might retire.

Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee member Sandy Bartlett is also running for a seat in District 32. Bartlett, a professor and attorney who lives in Maryland City, has Beidle's endorsement and said she was encouraged by the Democratic Party to run.

Kent has the backing of Run For Something, a group founded after the 2016 election that works to recruit progressive millennials to run for local office.

Big-picture issues on his platform include bail reform, automatic voter registration, single-payer health care and support for open government — such as a pledge to record any meetings with registered lobbyists and release them to the public.

He also supports researching whether establishing a universal basic income program — in which every resident is guaranteed a set amount of annual income — could be feasible in Maryland.

At the state level, Kent said he supports expanding renewable energy sources and addressing gerrymandering of legislative districts by putting redistricting decisions in the hands of the nonpartisan Department of Legislative Services, with up-or-down approval from state legislators.

On his campaign website, Kent has criticized some of the district's incumbent delegates for taking conservative stances on issues such as immigration and funding for Planned Parenthood.

In an essay weighing in on the close of the 2017 General Assembly session, he noted that Chang and Sophocleus voted against the Trust Act, which would have set boundaries on Maryland law enforcement's participation in immigration issues, and House Bill 1083, which would have guaranteed state funding for Planned Parenthood if it is defunded at the federal level.

"Over the past two election cycles, voters have made it clear that it is no longer sufficient for Democrats to just be a moderately better option than Republicans," Kent wrote in an email. "When voters can't see daylight between our parties on issues that matter to them, Republicans win."

Kent, who joined the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and served four years, is a software engineer who does consulting work for U.S. Cyber Command. He is married and has a 14-month-old son.

Kent's campaign had just under $3,200 in the bank in January, according to a campaign finance report.